Punch Out!
by Lord Zeppelin
Summary: For a young jack rabbit, his greatest dream was to become a champion boxer. In Zootopia, he hopes that his dream will come true. After all, in Zootopia, anyone can be anything. Rated T (PG-13) for violence and mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome one and all to my first ever Zootopia story! This is a story that I'm very proud of and hope you all enjoy. This story takes massive inspiration from the movies Rocky (1976) and Ali (2001).**

 **Big thank you to my good friend, Batmarcus for helping write this story, Disney for creating this awesome movie that we all enjoy and love, and a massive thank you to Nintendo for creating the game this story is based on.**

 **With all that said and done, hope you all enjoy and see you at the end notes!**

* * *

The crisp, cool morning air filled the young rabbit's lungs as he inhaled deeply. It was 5AM on a Friday in mid-January; The sun had yet to even come over the horizon and warm the city of Zootopia with its rays. Exhaling, his breath visible in the morning air, he took out a pair of earbuds from his pocket and put them in his large ears before taking out his phone and scrolled through his music selection. Finding the song he wanted, he chose it and began his morning run.

The song was the classic R&B piece "Land of 1000 Dances" by Wilson Pickett. As the sound of the horns filled his ears followed by the bass guitar and drums, the young buck rabbit broke into a sprint, fueled by the power of Rhythm and Blues. As he ran through the streets of the city, he passed by other mammals who were up this early due to their jobs, whether they were getting up early for work or just getting home from it. He had just passed by some garbage mammals who were picking up the trash from a row of apartments, waving at the young bunny as he passed them by. The young rabbit turned a corner and spotted some mammals who were just getting off the late shift at a couple of local restaurants and diners who were opening the doors to their apartment buildings.

The rabbit passed by the newspaper truck that was dropping off the various-sized papers for the newsstands, from the regular sized papers to the extra small print papers for the rodent residents of the city. If he had to pick a favorite time of day, it would be now. The city was peaceful and quiet. Though he still loved it when it was bustling and full of life, there was something about the calm serenity that he appreciated. Maybe it was the fact that often he didn't have to worry about anyone getting in his way on his jog.

After a while, the song began to fade and he arrived at his destination as well as the end of the first part of his morning workout. The place in question was a small local gym by the name of "Doc's Boxing Gym". It wasn't a big, fancy gym like those used by rich or middle-class mammals who just worked out to stay looking good. In fact, it was somewhat the opposite. It was small and a tiny bit worn down due to the age of the building, but it was nice enough for the young rabbit.

"I keep telling you that you should get a car, Mac." A voice said from behind him.

Turning around, the rabbit found himself staring up into the face of a large and somewhat pudgy-looking lion in a tracksuit, a few hairs in his main had begun to go grey, but other than that it was a deep red and gold color. This was Doc Louis, the gym's owner and Mac's trainer.

"What's the point of wearing yourself out before I get here?" Doc asked.

"Oh yeah, 'get a car' you say. Let me get on that with all that money I don't have," Mac said with a smirk up at the older predator, who chuckled heartily at the rabbit's sarcasm as he walked passed the small bunny, took out a key and opened the door to the boxing gym.

Upon opening the door and turning on the overhead lights, the lion and bunny were met with the sight and smell that they've come to love. The sight was that of sandbags and peanut bags hanging from the ceiling with bits of duct tape patching them up due to wear and tear, a regulation-sized boxing ring in the center of the large room for sparring matches, and weights and other equipment scattered around the place, from barbells and dumbbells, to jump ropes and paw strengtheners.

The smell was that of sweat, tears, blood, and a tiny bit of spit and vomit. "The smell of a contender" as Doc so put it.

Entering the gym, Mac headed straight for the locker room to change out of his grey tracksuit and change into his work out gear. Upon opening his locker and taking out his gear, he looked in a small mirror inside his locker as he took off his tracksuit's hood and unzipped his shirt, revealing his midnight black fur coat. He examined his facial features and smiled.

He was a young jack rabbit of about seventeen years of age. His nose was a small pink button in the sea of black on his face, and his ears were long and had little grey tips at the end of them. While he wasn't a vain mammal by nature, he took small bit of pride in his looks. He didn't have a single blemish or boil on his face. He had to admit that puberty had been inordinately kind to him.

Snapping out of his moment of vanity, Mac changed out of his track suit and pants and put on his workout gear, consisting of a grey tank top, white shorts with a blue stripe, and boxing shoes. After taping up his knuckles, he closed and locked his locker before heading out to train. As he left the locker room, he passed by a poster with a large, intimidating photo of a black-furred gorilla standing under the letters "WMBL" in all caps with the words "Mr. Sandman" at the gorilla's waist. Looking up at the poster, Mac smiled determinately.

"This is gonna be my year. Just you wait and see," He said in a near whisper before heading out into the gym proper.

* * *

 **Hope you loved this first chapter. Sorry that it's so short, hopefully the future chapters will be longer. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and especially review (Seriously, I live off reviews). Anyway, see you next chapter, and I am out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome one and all to the second chapter of "Punch Out!"! Before we get started, huge news: Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, author of "The Masked Fox" and "One Hundred Kisses" just favorited this story! I never expected such a big name in the fandom to follow this story so soon if at all. Thank you SO much to Cimar and I will see you guys at the end of the chapter. That said, on with the story!**

* * *

Precinct 1 was abuzz with busy officers as the work day had begun in earnest. Entering the building at 6:30 AM sharp was none other than Zootopia's first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps, and her partner, Nick Wilde. However, while Judy was her usual chipper self, Nick was less than ecstatic to be up so early in the morning as he sipped an extra-strength coffee. You'd think that after months at the police academy he'd be used to getting up so early. This was not the case.

"Honestly, Carrots, my mind boggles at how you can be so upbeat this early in the morning," Nick said grumpily, taking a large swig of his coffee.

"It's really easy, just lots of sleep and good exercise. Maybe you should get on a better schedule. It'll do you wonders," She said, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes in response.

"Thanks, but I live healthy enough. Besides a little bit of this wakes me up just fine," He said, holding up his paper cup.

"Yeah, soon you won't need it at all; it'll replace your blood," She said, actually getting a chuckle out of the fox before a loud, booming, baritone voice rang out.

"Hopps, Wilde, my office! Now!" Chief Bogo's voice yelled firmly before the door slammed shut. They both gulped audibly.

"What did we do wrong?" Judy asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it was that thing with the tigers last week?" Nick whispered.

"That was your idea!" She muttered.

"Hey, you didn't stop me from putting down that quick sand," He whispered back as they went up to the police chief's office. They entered and the door closed behind them.

Turning around, they were met with the ever intimidating form of Chief Bogo, the water buffalo standing tall compared to the fox and bunny.

"Have a seat," he said calmly but firmly as the two small mammals practically ran over to the two oversized chairs in front of his desk. Walking over to his chair on the opposite side of the desk, Bogo took a seat and looked down at the two officers. Before the chief could start talking, Judy beat him to the punch and started talking like a fast forwarding tape recorder.

"Chief Bogo, whatever we did, we swear it's not what you think! We did it with the best intentions in mind! It was all Nick's idea!" She spouted in a panicked tone before Bogo held up a hoof.

"Hopps, calm down," He said firmly, shutting the bunny up mid-rant. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Judy calmed down.

"Are we calm?" Bogo asked in a soft tone and Judy nodded, "Good," He said calmly as he tented his hooves and looked between the partners, "Now, allow me to explain why I called you up here."

"You mean we're not in trouble?" Judy asked, slightly relieved but still a bit on edge.

"No, not today you're not," Bogo said as he got up from his chair and began pacing behind his desk with his hooves behind his back.

"Then why did you call us up here?" Nick asked, slightly curious.

"I have a special assignment for you two," Bogo said, stopping his pacing as he looked to the two officers, "Do either of you follow sports at all?"

"Uh, I mean I used to follow a little soccer when I was a kit and I watched some local events in my teens," Nick said after a slight pause to think.

"I follow sports. Well, not all sports, but I do follow boxing and mixed martial arts." Judy said, somewhat shocking Nick, who looked at her with his surprise quite evident on his face as she shrugged, but Bogo nodded.

"Good, then you know all about the WMBL?" He asked holding up a large poster that showed a large, intimidating photo of a black-furred gorilla standing under the letters "WMBL" in all caps with the words "Mr. Sandman" at the gorilla's waist.

"The World Mammal Boxing League! Yeah I know about them! They accept any mammal who wants to fight and they allow them to fight in fair rounds! It's great!" She said happily.

"Glad you know of it, Hopps, because you see recently there have been rumors that a new steroid has been making its way through the league. However, we don't have any concrete proof that the steroid is there. It's known as Morgana, or so they say," He said carefully.

"And there's a reason you wanted to see us specifically about this, I take it?" Nick asked.

"Yes. If rumors are to be believed, it's an off-shot of Night Howlers, mixed with something else." Bogo revealed.

Both Nick and Judy sat up just a bit straighter and looked to him with sharper eyes.

"You're sure about this?" Judy asked, her tone suddenly much less happy and much more business-like.

"No, that's the whole point. None of this is solid evidence. It's just rumors and here say, which is why I am sending you two to investigate these claims. You'll be going undercover and shadowing a young rookie set to join the league this year. You will stand in as two of his corner mammals while you look into this and report back. The competitor is a young rabbit by the name of 'Little' Mac Lahps." He said and Judy perked right back up.

"Mac Lahps? Oh my gosh, he got in!" Judy exclaimed happily.

"Someone you know, Fluff?" Nick asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah, he's my mom's youngest sister's son and one of my cousins. Last I saw him he was just a kid watching old boxing tapes in his living room. I can't believe he moved to Zootopia and managed to join the league!" She said happily.

"Wow, your family just doesn't do normal rabbit things do they?" Nick asked.

"Only me and him, the rest are content being farmers," She said like it was no big deal.

"Well since you know who you're dealing with, I'm sure you won't have much trouble with this. Though I will warn you that you'll be playing this for the long game. We don't know who will be using Morgana, and since the competitors are flying in from all around and won't be present until at most a week before their fights, the only way to do this is to stick with Mac throughout the league and investigate each fighter individually," Bogo explained.

"Isn't there any other way to do this, sir? Something more efficient?" Judy asked.

"If there were any other way, I would take it, Hopps. Unfortunately, there isn't."

"I understand, sir," Judy replied.

"Good. You'll find Lahps at a small gym called Doc's Boxing Gym in the Canal District. Now, you two have your orders; dismissed," Bogo said as the two officers saluted the police chief before getting up from their seats and heading out the door.

* * *

Walking down the stairs toward the front door, the duo walked by the front desk where Clawhauser was having his breakfast of donuts when he spotted the two officers walking past him.

"Hey you two," He said in his usual soft-spoken but upbeat tone, "Heard the chief call you up a second ago. You guys okay? What happened?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with, Spots," Nick said coolly, using his nickname for the overweight cheetah, "Ol' Bogo just gave us an assignment was all."

"Ooh! What is it? Is it something serious?" Benjamin asked in a low voice like an excited child asking about a secret.

"Very serious. Can't give you any details though. Sorry, Benjamin," Judy said, disappointing the larger mammal, though he nodded in understanding. While he was the gossip of the precinct, he understood the importance of secrecy when it came to certain assignments.

"Well good luck you two. Stay safe," He replied as they left the cheetah to his breakfast.

"What do we do first, Carrots?" Nick asked as they left the precinct building.

"Well the first thing we'll need to do is go home and change out of our uniforms since this is a partially undercover job. Once we do that we'll go down and see Mac and tell him about what's going on," Judy explained her plan before noticing a small flaw in it, "Question: Where is Doc's Boxing Gym?" She asked, getting a chuckle out of her friend and partner.

"Relax, I know exactly where that is. Me and Finnick used to pass by there back when we hustled Pawpsicles. Small place, but it's hard to miss. I'll text you the address and we can meet up there after we get changed. We'll meet up in, say, an hour?" He asked.

"Right. Meet you there," She said as they split up and went their separate ways for the time being.

* * *

About an hour later, Nick found himself now dressed in his usual everyday civilian clothes, meeting up with Judy, who was dressed in a blue shirt and black jeans, just outside the gym.

"You sure this is the right place, Nick?" Judy asked, looking up at the gym's dilapidated sign, which was worn out with age, "Doesn't exactly scream 'professional boxing gym', you know?"

"As you know, Carrots, looks can be deceiving. Besides you'd be surprised at what you can find in unlikely places." Nick said seriously as they pushed open the doors and were hit with an overpowering smell.

"Okay so it doesn't exactly smell the best," Nick admitted, using his shirt as a nose filter.

As they walked in and around the boxing ring in the center of the large, warehouse-like gym, they found a lion standing off to the side of a speed bag as a black and grey rabbit was hammering away at it.

"Come on, Mac, you're slowin' down! Do that in the ring and someone'll be more than happy to knock you out! Just fifteen more seconds! You can do it!" The greying Lion said encouragingly as Mac swatted away at the bag, making it sound like a machine gun going off.

 _'Just ten more seconds,'_ Mac thought as he worked through the pain in his arms and paws, _'Five seconds. Four... Three... Two... One!'_

"Time!" Doc called out as Mac delivered one last hard jab to the speed bag before dropping his arms and putting his paws to his knees; completely out of breath.

"Nice work, Mac," Doc said proudly, putting a hand on the lapin's back and giving a hard pat, "You earned yourself a break."

"Thanks, Doc," Mac said with a light chuckle as he panted in exhaustion. They were then interrupted when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Turning around, they were met with Nick and Judy standing by and watching them.

"Can I help you two?" Doc asked. However, before either could answer the larger predator, Mac looked at Judy and raised an eyebrow before recognizing her.

"Jude?" He asked and the bunny cop smiled at the younger rabbit.

"Hey Mac," She said simply.

* * *

 **And that is the second chapter over and done with. Hope you all enjoyed it! Tell me your thoughts and opinions in the reviews and tell me what you thought of me making Mac Judy's cousin. Again, huge shoutout to** **Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps for following and favoriting this story. Hope to see you all again, and I am out!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Jude!" Mac exclaimed happily, all feeling of exhaustion seemingly vanishing on the spot. He ran over and hugged her so tight that Nick was surprised that a few of her ribs didn't at least crack, but she appeared to be hugging him back just as hard.

"It's been too long! How have you been?" He asked, stepping back and looking his cousin up and down, his eyes alight with interest and concern.

"I've been great! Sorry for how long it's been, but the job has kept me pretty busy. Glad to see you've been keeping up your training, I can see that it's paying off," She said and Mac nodded.

"Yeah, I'm getting better. Doc says I'm ready to go if I get in this year." He said puffing out his chest a little bit and making himself look a little bigger. Though given he was a rabbit it didn't help much.

Judy chuckled a bit before jabbing him lightly in the arm.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in Zootopia?! I would've shown you the sights or something," Judy said, making Mac chuckle sheepishly.

"Sorry, Jude, I would've, really, but I was busy workin' with Doc on my training," Mac said with a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his head, "How did you know I was here anyway?"

"Well that's part of the reason why we're here. Is there any chance we can talk to both of you somewhere a little more private?" Nick asked as he took note of the few other mammals that were working out at other spots in the gym.

"Sure, we can talk in my office," Doc said carefully, leading them over to a door along the far wall.

They all filed into a small room filled with a few filing cabinets, a large black desk with a chair behind it, and a few other chairs in front of it. Lining the walls were several of the WMBL posters with the champs through the years. Nick noticed that a few of them featured Doc himself in his younger days.

"Have a seat," Doc offered, sitting down behind his desk as the others took seats in front of him. Mac, however, stood to the side; sitting wasn't something he felt like. He could tell whatever this was, his cousin was really worried.

"So, Miss Hopps, right? What's the issue?" He asked.

"Well this may be a little hard to hear, Mr. Louis," Judy began.

"Please, call me 'Doc'. Everybody does," Doc said kindly with a soft smile on his slightly wrinkled face.

"Oh. Well, uh, Doc, the reason we're here is we were assigned to watch over Mac and investigate the other fighters in the League. You see there have been rumors going around that one or more fighters in the WMBL have been taking a new form of steroid called Morgana," Judy explained, shocking Doc and Mac.

"Steroids?!" Mac exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"That ain't right. I've seen these mammals fight. They're pretty good, but there's no way any of them would use steroids," Doc said firmly, but then his look changed to that of thought, "Except maybe..."

"What's up, Doc?" Mac asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his coach and friend was thinking.

"There may be one fighter who would try steroids to give himself an edge."

"Who's that?" Nick asked in curiosity.

"He's this French deer, goes by the name of Glass Joe," Doc said.

"Why do they call him that?" Judy asked.

"Well the poor sucker can barely last 'til Round 2 and has a Win/Lose record of 1:99," Doc explained, making Judy's jaw drop in utter shock before Mac and Nick burst out laughing.

"Nick, Mac, why are you two laughing?" Judy asked in slight shock at her cousin's and partner's mean-spiritedness.

"It's not what you think, Carrots," Nick said through his laughing.

"Then what are you two laughing at?" Judy asked.

"We're laughing at the fact that someone lost to someone with ninety-nine losses! HAHAHA!" Mac laughed loudly, clutching his stomach he was laughing so hard.

She stared at them for a second, letting that fact sink in before snickering then she too burst into a bit of laughter. After a minute or so, they regained themselves. They regained their serious faces, though the laughter had helped them to relieve the tension a bit.

"So, you really think that one or more of these guys could be using this Morgana stuff?" Mac asked.

"Well, that's what the rumor is. That's what we were sent to find out for sure. If it's this Glass Joe guy then it'll be a short investigation. If not, we'll stick with you so we can keep looking," Nick said.

"That is if you two don't mind us tagging along while Mac fights?" Judy asked, looking to Doc, who looked to be in deep thought at the question.

"While I fight? Wait... I got in!? I finally got in?! You're sure!?" Mac asked excitedly bounding over to his cousin who nodded and chuckled.

"Yeah, you got in. Sorry to spoil the surprise there. I suppose that your acceptance forms should be arriving today or in the next few days. Congratulations, Mac. I know how hard you worked for this," Judy said smiling.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I got in! Oh, you wait, this is going to be the year! This is going to be my year!" He said excitedly.

"I know it will! I know you can do this! However, I still have to ask, do you guys mind if we come along for the ride to save the League and keep the fights as fair as they can be?" Judy asked.

"Heck, it's fine with me if it's fine with you, Mac," Doc said with a chuckle at seeing his young pupil's excitement.

"Heck yeah, it's fine with me!" Mac said, completely pumped with energy at the news of being accepted into the League.

"Alright then, you two are in. Just remember that when you're not investigating you have to actually help me with the kid's training," Doc said seriously.

"Of course, sir," Judy said, looking to Nick who smiled.

"Yeah, I guess we can do that," Nick said with his usual smirk.

"Then welcome to the team. You'll be workin' as Mac's secondary corner managers," Doc said, getting up from behind his desk and heading back to the gym proper, "Now come on. Since we know that Mac got in, that'll mean that he'll be getting his first fight by the end of the month," Doc said as he opened the door and the other three followed him out.

"Who'll he be fighting first?" Judy asked.

"Remember the guy we were just talking about?" Doc replied.

"Wait, his first opponent's gonna be Glass Joe?" Nick asked with a chuckle.

"If I'm up against him then we can relax, right, Doc? I mean the guy's a total chump," Mac said.

"He may be a chump, Mac, but he did manage to somehow win his last fight. That means he's improving. Even against weak opponents like him, we can't let our guards down," Doc explained, causing Mac to think a moment before nodding his head in agreement at his coach's words of wisdom.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, the four of them worked nearly nonstop. Between making sure Mac was ready, making sure that they had access to any pre- and post-fight drug testing, and even participating in a few workouts, Nick was exhausted. However, the pair of Rabbits seemed to have boundless amounts of energy, and he had to admire that.

That said, he wished they would stop expecting him to have the same limitless energy. He was practically being dragged along by Judy as they walked down the streets of Savanah Central.

"Come on, Nick. Speed it up! We can't be late for the weigh in!" She said, practically skipping along with the fox's sleeve in hand.

"We still have plenty of time, Fluff. Calm down, we'll make it," He said calmly.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited! It's a big moment for Mac," She said, dragging him around the corner and up to a mid-sized building. They stopped in front of the building that had a large light-up sign of two golden boxing gloves clashing together. Written beneath them was a smaller sign that read, "Golden Gloves Arena".

They hadn't expected much of a turn out, it was, after all, a rookie and a fighter with a horrible win/lose record fighting. However, there was a decent number of reporters and cameramammals waiting inside, covering the event. The fox and bunny duo slipped past the reporters to the backstage area to find Mac shadow boxing in his gym clothes.

"Hey, how you feeling, Mac?" Nick asked as he walked around the rabbit to sit on a small bench that was up against the wall.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Slick," Mac said a smirk, finishing off his quick workout with an uppercut.

"Nervous?" Judy asked, knowing slightly what he was going through.

"A little," Mac said with a chuckle just as Doc came into the room with a serious face.

"It's time, Mac," He said simply, getting a nod from Mac as he, Nick, and Judy followed Doc out of the room and followed him down the corridors. They soon came to a pair of double doors and pushed them open to the flashes of cameras and the yammering of reporters, asking all manner of questions to the young lapin.

"Mac! Mac! How does it feel to be not only the first Lapin League member, but also one of the youngest?" A doe deer journalist asked.

"I may be a rabbit, but I'll show Glass Joe that this bunny's got bite!" Mac responded, showing off his teeth.

"Mac, do you feel any kind of nerves for your debut fight?" A male razorback boar reporter asked.

"Only kind of nerves I have are nerves of steel!" Mac replied.

"Being a rabbit puts you at a slight disadvantage compared to other mammals. Do you have a strategy in mind to get around this?" A Tigress asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!" Mac said, throwing a small punch before they finally got to the scales for the weigh in. Over to the side, they spotted a skinny red deer having his blood pressure and heart checked out. The four of them recognized him as Glass Joe from some boxing videos they watched over the two week. He was frail-looking and his antlers were very small compared to the average buck.

Turning his head to look at them, he looked Mac dead in the eyes and pointed his hoof at him.

"Soyez prêt à perdre," He said in as threatening a tone he could manage, though they noticed a slight tremble in his arm and voice.

Mac stared at him and then leaned over to Judy.

"What on Earth did he just say?" He asked.

"I don't know. Sounded like a threat," Judy mumbled back to him, shrugging her shoulders as they took Mac's weight and he sighed.

"Well yeah I got that part, but I need to know what he said so I know how to respond. Didn't you take French in high school?" He demanded.

"That was years ago and you know it. Plus, I never really ended up using it, so I'm really rusty," She shot back.

"Eighteen and a half. The challenger, Little Mac, eighteen and a half pounds!" The official that was weighing Mac called out to the judges and reporters to write down.

Getting off the scale so he could be examined by the doctors for any heart or blood pressure problems, Glass Joe stepped up to the scale and was weighed.

"Two hundred and thirty-seven. Glass Joe, Two hundred and thirty-seven pounds!" The official relayed to the judges and reporters but also shocking Judy a little.

"What's up, Jude?" Mac asked.

"That's just over half what a red deer like Joe should weigh. The average weight of a red deer is four hundred and forty pounds."

"Dang, are they sure there's nothing wrong with him?" Nick asked, slightly shocked at this news.

"Other than his glass bones and paper skin? No," Doc said as Glass Joe got off the scale and marched toward the exit confidently.

"What's wrong, Joe? You don't have the balls to stay and say something for these fine mammals?" Mac called out after him. Glass Joe didn't respond and simply walked out the door.

"You see that? He's too scared to even speak to me! But in the fight I will give him a reason to be," Mac said confidently before leaving the stage himself as the press began to file out.

"Is it wise to taunt the guy so much?" Judy asked as they left and headed out of the building themselves.

"Of course it is, that's the way the business works. I got this, Jude. I just need to head home and get some rest," Mac said confidently.

"What if he's got the steroids though?" She asked.

"Then I'll beat them out of him and he'll have learned a lesson. See you all at the fight!" Mac said heading home as Judy sighed and turned to Nick.

"Am I normally that carefree and confident?"

"Yeah, for the most part." Nick said and she punched him in the shoulder, making the 'dumb fox' wince at how hard she was able to punch, even if it was just a light one.

Mac, meanwhile, got home, ate a good meal, and stared at his boxing gear of green gloves and shorts for a long time before showering.

' _I got this, I got this,_ ' He thought.

After drying himself off and getting dressed, Mac sat down on the bed in his small apartment. He took a deep breath before he looked up at the clock. It read 6PM.

"Three hours to go," He said to himself before lying down in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, "I can do this. I can do this," He repeated to himself before a deafening silence set in before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A knock at his door startled the young rabbit out of his slumber. Hopping out of bed and sprinting over to his apartment door, he straightened himself up before opening the door to reveal Doc standing in the doorway.

"It's time, Mac," He said seriously.

Mac nodded his head before grabbing his gloves and following Doc out the door and down the staircase of his apartment building. Waiting outside was a taxi with Nick and Judy waiting in the backseat. Opening the back passenger door, Doc let Mac sit down before taking his place in the cab. As the taxi drove toward Savanah Central, Doc was giving Mac one last pep talk.

"Focus, Mac. You are speed. You are power," Doc said with a determined face, Mac matching it as he nodded at his coaches words, "You eat chumps like Glass Joe for breakfast. You're so tough, you eat needles and spit out paperclips. You're so fast you can catch lightning."

Doc kept talking Mac up and he kept mostly quiet the closer they got to the arena. He let out a breath as they left the car and slipped into the back. He took to pacing around, waiting for his intro; and then, at last, the announcer began to make introductions.

"Ladies and Gentlemammals! Kits and cubs of all ages! In this corner, in the red trunks, weighing in at 237 lbs. from Paris, France, the deer who's been hit in the head seventy-five too many times: Glass Joe!" The announcer exclaimed as the crowd mostly booed the deer as the French national anthem played.

"Bonjour, bonjour! Je suis Glass Joe! Ha-ha!" He announced as he took his spot in the ring.

As Joe's music stopped, Judy whispered,"You've got this, Mac," before patting him on the back.

"And in this corner, weighing in at a mere 18 1/2 lbs., the first ever rabbit fighter here in the WMBL. He may be small, but never call him cute. Here he is: Little Mac!"

"That's your queue, Mac," Doc said as he was led out of the corridor, slamming his gloves together to pump himself up as the song Gonna Fly Now started playing over the sound system.

Mac stepped into the ring as Nick, Judy, and Doc took his corner. Mac then looked and smiled to the audience before showing off a few quick jabs toward them, getting some small cheers from them as he took his place opposite Glass Joe in the center of the ring where the official came up and talked to the two competitors.

"Now I want a clean fight. That means no headbutting, no stepping on feet or hooves, and no shots below the belt. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Oui."

"Good. Now touch gloves and take your corners," The official said as they did so and he backed up to a neutral corner of the ring. Mac took to his corner and Doc leaned down to him and whispered.

"Remember what I taught you, Mac. Stick and move, baby, stick and move. Do that and you've got this." He said as the opening bell rang and Mac and Glass Joe began their fight.

* * *

 **And... cliffhanger! Sorry ladies and gents, I'm ending the chapter here. But don't worry, you'll see the fight play out in full detail next chapter.**

 **Don't forget to fave, follow, and review! That being said, see you all later!**


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